Dream Anew
by ranichan
Summary: A reoccuring dream has Kagome thinking that there is evil in she and Inuyasha's future but she can't bear to finish the dream. What shall become of them? better than it soundsif not, then review! but check it outIK


A/N: I know I was 'sposed to update ladies ball but since I was at a crossroads, I decided that I should focus on another project temporarily and thus, here is Dream Anew. I hope it's worth it (I'm off my writers block :)

**Dream Anew**

By: Ranichan

"So... cold..." Kagome thought as she wandered aimlessly through Inuyasha's forest. A thick cloud of ominous fog impaired her vision. Somehow, however, she knew she had to get somewhere. Something important was going to happen, she didn't know what but her instincts forced her forward. When something finally came into view, she was surprised that it was Inuyasha staring at her. Even more surprising was that she was reaching for something on her back. She grasped something familiar as she brought forward her bow and an arrow.

None of the forest noises filled her ears as she set up her weapon. Her mind questioned what was going on with no logical answer. Her hands moved swiftly on their own and before she knew it, the line on her bow was pulled taut, her arrow in place. Her weapon was aimed at Inuyasha and he wasn't running away. "Inuyasha, run! Please! I don't know what's going on! Please, go while you can!" she cried but her pleas died on her lips. It seemed as if her entire body was resisting her. Was she under an enemies control? Whatever it was, it was what let go of the arrow, aimed at her dog-eared companion.

The arrow pierced through the air, whistling through the distance between them before it tore into Inuyasha's torso.

The pained look on his face brought tears to Kagome's eyes and his hand reached out as if trying to pull reason from thin air.

It was as if the curse was broken because Kagome could finally make her way over to Inuyasha. Tears brimmed over her eyes and she reached for him as if to console him after she had caused him pain. Her hands seemed paler than usual as if the blood had been drained from her limbs but she didn't care, all that mattered was Inuyasha. She wanted to scream, "I'm coming, Inuyasha," but her vocal chords still seemed to be working against her. As she closed in on him, rather than helping him, comforting him, her hand hovered over his torso and in one fluid motion, she plunged her hand into his chest and held his beating heart in her hand. Warm blood washed over her hands and suddenly, she wasn't so cold...  
> > 

Kagome woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Her blood was racing and her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She looked around wildly, tears running down her cheeks. Everyone around her was sleeping soundly and Inuyasha was safe, high up in the tree tops. It was a dream, just a horrendous nightmare. She carefully extracted herself from her sleeping bag, cautious not to wake any of her comrades. She mopped the sweat from her forehead and followed the sound of running water to a small creek near the camp. Her shaky hands reached into the creek and splashed some water onto her clammy face and neck. She looked down at her reflection in the water. Her eyes were red and puffy and her bangs lay matted against her forehead. "Such a realistic dream..." she shuddered. Her hand that had grasped Inuyasha's heart in the dream still felt warm as if everything had really happened.

"Oy, Kagome, what are you doing up?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped. Her body twitched in shock and she swiped away her reflection. "I... couldn't sleep..."

"You sure you're all right?" Inuyasha asked concernedly.

"Yea..." Kagome sighed. "It was just a dream... or was it?" she thought, shaken.

"Well, come on, I'll take you back to camp. Something seems off here so don't wander off alone at night anymore, ok?" he asked as he ushered her forward.

"Yea..." Kagome answered quietly. When he reached for her arm, a gesture of concern, she shook him off, still traumatized, afraid of his touch. "Could that dream have been something more?" she pondered as she feigned sleep to throw Inuyasha off her back. She knew after her stunt that evening, he probably wouldn't sleep at all for the rest of the night, just to keep his eyes on her. Soon, even she couldn't help slipping into an uneasy sleep.  
> > 

The following day brought Kagome no peace. It seemed as if everyone knew something was wrong and they walked on eggshells around her.

"Sango?" Kagome called as the group continued to travel in search of the Shikon jewel shards.

"Yes, Kagome?" Sango answered uneasily. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, Sango, I-" Kagome began, but even in her funk, she couldn't help but see that everyone was hanging on her every word, their ears pressed in her face. She cleared her throat exasperatedly, "I say we stop for now and _rest_."

"Uh yea, yea!"

"I agree."

"Whatever you say, Kagome." the boys agreed in unison.

As they began to set up a temporary camp, Kagome pulled Sango off to the side. "Sango... something _terrible_ has happened."

"Oh, Kagome! Don't say you're leaving forever just because you lost interest in Inuyasha, please don't go!" Sango plead which explained the groups awkward behavior.

"Sango, that's not what's wrong."

"But, Inuyasha told us about last night and we just assumed that you had-" Sango explained.

"No, Sango! Listen! Something terrible's going to happen to Inuyasha and I think I have something to do with it... I had a horrible dream last night and... it was so _real_." Kagome began as she inadvertently held out her right hand. She told Sango everything she could about her dream.

When Kagome finished, Sango's face depicted puzzlement and shock. "It was probably just a nightmare..." she shrugged crashing back to reality.

"I hope you're right, Sango, but what if-" Kagome argued but she was interrupted as the girls were called back for lunch.

"Kagome, we made lunch for you!" Shippou squealed as he scampered onto Sango's shoulder.

After lunch, the group set out once more, Kagome noticeably lagging behind.

"What if it wasn't a dream at all? What if it's a premonition?" she anguished. She was going to cause Inuyasha pain... after all he'd been through since Kagome had been there; reliving Kikyo's betrayal, Kagome serving as a constant reminder of Kikyo, Kikyo's reanimation... and to top it off, she was about to betray him as well. The stress of it was causing her physical pain. Her thoughts ate at her as she silently followed her comrades. "I must have been under someone's control... I mean, I had no free will and-"

"Kagome? Do you detect a shard anywhere?"Inuyasha asked, shaking Kagome from her reverie.

Kagome hadn't even noticed the shard that seemed to be calling to the other half. From the hair raising on the back of her neck, she knew danger was afoot. She had to keep her eyes open.  
> >

"Look, dog-brain, these are _my_ shards, she's _my_ woman and you're in _my_ way!" Kouga growled pushing past Inuyasha flippantly.

"Kagome, come away with me, we can mate and you'll be the den mother," Miroku jested to Sango quietly. When they found out it was only Kouga's shards, the tension amongst the group dissipated.

"Kagome, come be my woman. You won't have to put up with puppy poop anymore," Kouga insisted, grasping her wrist.

"You lay a hand on her and I'll wring your neck," Inuyasha threatened defiantly, he pried Kagome from Kouga's grip and swept her behind him. "Now hand over the shards," he demanded, Tetsaiga transforming threateningly in his hand.

"Inuyasha, this will have to wait..." Miroku stepped up putting his hands up haltingly. "You feel that?"

"Look!" Sango gasped, pointing out the cloud of Naraku's poisonous insects, darkening the horizon as if to herald his arrival.  
> > 

"We were lucky that time..." Sango sighed as the gang began to set up camp for the night.

"Lucky that no one died?" Shippou asked confusedly. He thought the fight went well, from his perspective.

"No... lucky that was only another puppet. Had it been Naraku... someone _would_ have died," Miroku answered, glancing at Kagome as she limped over to the campsite, supported by Inuyasha.

"What were you _thinking_, Kagome? You're lucky you're _alive_! What would possess you to jump in front of me like that when I'm fighting? You're lucky all you got was a sprain!" Inuyasha lectured as he helped Kagome.

Kagome took in his words silently. Admittedly, what she had done was stupid. Had Naraku not had been distracted by Inuyasha, he could have taken advantage of her actions and killed she and Inuyasha as well. It was luck that she had only received a sprain. Well, luck and Inuyasha. He had managed to save her and miraculously beat the puppet.

With the weight of the possibilities of the fight resting on her shoulders, she was exhausted and sleep came easy.

Once again, she was in the cold forest. Her pasty hands were as cold as ice and her long, billowing sleeves provided no warmth. Before she knew it, she was before Inuyasha once more. His trusting eyes stared at her lovingly but despite that, she was still reaching for her weapon. "Run! Oh, please, Inuyasha! I don't want to hurt you but I can't help myself!" Kagome plead silently. A tear burned down her pale cheek as she held her bow and arrow poised in her hands.

Inuyasha had not said a word. However, his lips broke into a small smile as he parted his lips and gently admitted, "I love you, K-"

Just then, the arrow that had rested in Kagome's hand slipped from her grasp, shooting through the forest air and finding a home in Inuyasha's chest.

As she proceeded in her zombie-like walk towards Inuyasha, she begged her body to stop, to break whatever curse she was under. If not that, she prayed that she would awaken before she had to see the pain and anguish in Inuyasha's eyes again.

Sure enough, his eyes were filled with the pain of betrayal. instead of being angry, however, he reached out a hand as if to hold her and she went to him.

Kagome slapped his arm away and once again ripped out his beating heart for him to see. The warm blood that gushed over her hand warmed her body. After finally warming up, she held his heart before him as if in offering. He reached out and when he came just short of her hand, she closed his heart in her fist and noted the terror in Inuyasha's eyes. Soon, his expression faded as he succumbed to death, all the while holding his hand out.

Kagome woke from her sleep in a sleeping bag soaked in cold sweat. She gasped sharply as she looked around at her resting companions, her eyes resting on Inuyasha's.

He was wide awake and stared at her in concern from his elevated perch. "Something wrong?" he asked her quietly.

"Uh... no... it was just a dream..." she answered, more for herself than for him. She lay back down in her sleeping bag uneasily, so as to comfort Inuyasha. Looking for a chance to get him _way_ out of earshot, she called to him once more. "Inuyasha, I... I can't sleep. Can you get me some water? For my head? I don't feel well..." she groaned with relish.

Inuyasha, confused as he was, did as he was asked and went to a nearby spring for water.

Kagome took advantage of Inuyasha's absence and scrambled from her sleeping bag to kneel beside Sango. "Sango?... Sango! Wake up! I... I keep having that dream. What should I do?" she hissed.

Sango, still groggy and not about her wits, mumbled something unintelligible.

"Sango!"

"I... I said, _finish_ the dream... you... you never know. But you need to," and with that, she drifted back to sleep.

"Right, finish the dream, easy for her to say..." Kagome muttered under her breath, slipping back into her sleeping bag. It took her a few minutes but by the time Inuyasha got back with the water, she had already gone back to sleep.  
> > 

A gloomy fog had settled over the forest since the last time Kagome had been to sleep. Her weapon was already poised but her unwilling body seemed to be working against the curse. Her bow and arrow quivered angrily as she fought to suppress the urge to (for lack of a better word) let 'er rip.

Inuyasha, stood before her, a little ways away. His gleeful smile belied his somber eyes. "I-I love you, Kikyo..." he breathed.

"I'm _Kagome_! KAGOME!" she yelled, clenching onto her identity, her name being the only thing that discerned her from Kikyo. She clumsily let the arrow go and with painful precision, it hit its mark, instantly paralyzing Inuyasha. Her head spun and she was already holding his heart but his blood provided no warmth. A twitch of the fingers later, and his life was fading before her. Whether her jealousy or her dream had sped up the motions leading to his death, she did not know. She collapsed before his body, cold from her skin to the core of her being. Had he really mistook her for... Kikyo?

Suddenly, from Inuyasha's corpse, there was movement.

Kagome gasped as she observed a projection like image of Inuyasha emerge from the runes of his body. As it separated from his flesh, it solidified and became a separate entity.

She rose to her feet in awe as she reached out in disbelief, longing to touch him, to make sure he was real. To be assured that no harm had been done.

He, however, was too quick for her and was already walking away from her, paying her no attention. His heart and his mind was focused elsewhere.

Kagome followed him with her eyes and was shocked to see herself standing with open arms. "Bu-but... I'm right here, _I'm_ Kagome..." she reasoned aloud but her voice was somehow not her own. It was Kikyo's voice and as she looked down, her pale hands and billowing sleeves were not hers either. They belonged to Kikyo.

As Inuyasha embraced the dream Kagome, Kagome was suddenly thrown into her own body and could finally see things through her own eyes. Inuyasha had chosen her over Kikyo. Her dream was making sense..

"We can make anew what once was lost," Inuyasha breathed into her ear. "Stay with me, Kagome... Kagome... Kag-" her name echoed from his lips.  
> > 

"Kagome, wake _up_!" Sango insisted. "You disturb my sleep and suddenly you're dead to the world..." she grumbled. Seeing that Kagome's eyes had opened, she asked, "Well? How did it turn out? Are you finally at peace?"

"At peace? Relax, Sango, it was only a _dream_," Kagome smiled to herself.

End

A/N: Well... was it worth it? I know it's a little confusing here and there but... well what can I say? I'm back to working on Ladies' ball despite my nearing examinations... lol If you wanted to read it over again to be smart and find symbols and junk? It's there ;) lol


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